


Ideals

by Aris



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Actually quite a light hearted fic, Angst, Dyslexia, Eating Disorders, I don't have any other tags for now please check back later, M/M, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-19
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-29 21:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1010165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aris/pseuds/Aris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Just a guy from NYC with too much free time and a barely functional laptop. Feel free to PM me.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>In which Tony finds love in internet forums.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (the first chapter kind of sucks im so sorry)

Tony looked over his post again, frown tight on his brow as he stares over the words, them them repeatedly for mistakes. It seemed right to him - it truly did - but in his peripheral the words seem to twist, similar letters swapping and blurring. Sighing, he places a cool hand on his forehead where he felt the frustration pool and, with a slight effort, forcefully dispersed it.

"JARVIS, spell check. Please." 

A black line begins to run over the words, stopping and re-phrasing works or replacing letters, fast and effective - all the things Tony's brain is not when it comes to written communication. Solid data. JARVIS lets out an affirmative and Tony presses the unfamiliar grey 'post' button, watching as a timer ticks, quick as a flash, then lets the post drift upwards and off the screen. Posted. All Tony has to do now is wait.

It had been Bruce's idea - well, to a point. Bruce had left two days ago, something about Africa and medicine, and Tony had, selfishly, asked Bruce to stay - to help him and not the children dying in a third world country. Bruce was his source of ideas, his realistic down-to-earth anchor that reminded him that not everyone was a billionaire and if Tony were to make a spaceship, Tony had all the designs drawn up, it would be helpful to no-one and that maybe something like an audio-controlled fan would be a bit more accessible to his customers, as well as price-safe. Tony needed that someone to tell him what was stupid and what was not, and with Pepper having vacated his romantic life and taken a step back in his personal life, that job had fallen to Bruce.

Who was now in Africa.

Bruce had, however, suggested finding someone else to fill in his shoes. A consultant, or something like that. Tony was loathe to share his potentially multi-million dollar ideas with someone who was paid to listen and ready to stab him in the back for another big company; instead spending the last two days drawing up impossible designs in his lab and refitting some of Dummy's older parts. It wasn't till he was almost passed out in front of the TV the previous night that a reference to the internet, in a movie he'd been halfheartedly paying attention to, set his mind spinning.

Of course, _the internet._

So here he was, the great Tony Stark, asking the internet what it wanted from Stark Industries.

He was anonymous, of course, with an icon of New York and the username JARVIS - all his other details were scarce, no location, a lacking 'about me' and a low score rate, which was apparently connected to his contribution to the site, which, having just joined, was limited. The thread he had created was within the 'Other' section, and he had phrased it as if he was merely interested in what people would theoretically want from Stark Industries, not as if he was the owner and wanted feedback or suggestions.

Suddenly feeling anxious about his decision and questioning the sanity in his plan, Tony refreshed Ideas.com and stared down his new thread, eyes skipping to the view counter - 0.

Well.

Tony could wait.


	2. Chapter 2

He was up early the next morning, sleep failing in the face of nightmares of fires and screaming the all too sharp recollection of his logo - Stark Industries - printed in formal, white font. On a bomb. Agitated and feeling stuck in a permanent flinch, Tony made his way to the kitchen, t-shirt unpleasantly sticky with sweat and clinging tightly to his body. He felt far too exhausted to lift the shirt from his torso, and the idea of his eyes being covered, even briefly, was somehow something to fear. He remembers the blindfolds all too well, that scratchy sensation and the fear - real and trembling - that weaved imaginary situations into ever sound and smell.

Tony gripped the counter tightly.

It's been six months ago, _six_. He needed to get over it, move on with his life. The nightmares were pathetic reminders that interfered with his life, he needed to -

Stop thinking about, _stop, stop stop._

He gasped quietly to himself, reeling in reality with the cold sensation of the granite counter under his hand, the lightly heated tiles below his feet. He was in stark tower, alive and well and breathing. There were no more bombs and no more guns and no more hurt to his name, There wouldn't be another - another -

"Sir, would you like an update on the post you made yesterday afternoon?" inquired JARVIS politely, pulling Tony firmly from the depths of his head. _Fuck,_ , JARVIS always knew when to come in. Relief added a new sheen to his skin.

"The- wha?" he said, pushing himself into a straight position, fingers now slippy from sweat "Oh, yeah - yeah about that. Anyone said anything?" Tony started towards the coffee machine, deciding that there was no point in returning to bed now. He could never sleep after a nightmare, and he might as well start reading anything left for him; it might help with some new ideas to work on, ones that didn't involve deep space travel. Though NASA would certainly thank him.

"There are twenty-seven comments sir, with a page view count of two hundred and fifty eight." Tony raised an eyebrow, cup raised to the machine.

"Visual, JARVIS. Also, coffee would be nice." displays flickered into life to the right of Tony and, as JARVIS worked the coffee machine, Tony read through them, fingers light on the images.

**Jeremy_Mathews** || RATING: 500. || _Newcomer._  
 _Cheaper prices, it costs an arm and a leg for one of those TV's, scarcely even worth it! The kids broke it in days. Settled for a Panasonic and never been happier._

**TheAnt** || RATING: 1.5M. || _Mod._  
 _Swearing to a minimum on this thread, please. Remember you are liable to suspension if you are caught breaking the rules._

Tony frowned at the Mod's post, scrolling through a few more comments and being surprised at how much people seemed to dislike his company. He had been under the impression that with his recent change of course away from weapons of destruction, public favour had turned tides towards him; however, it seemed that some users were still very much against him and - what did they call it - his lackadaisical, playboy attitude. Frown remaining, Tony took a sip of his freshly made coffee and continued to look through comments, hoping someone had left something he could work with.

**Mischief** || RATING: 10.3M. || _God_  
 _Moving on from Stark Industries boss and previous direction, I've always had some, perhaps misguided, hope they'd concentrate on a medical pathway. I've personally been in and out of hospitals for a while now and some of the equipment present at even a low patient capacity is decidedly rather lacking and borderline useless, especially in terms of easy transportation and time of use. Standard level sanitation also could be vastly improved by machines - something I'm genuinely quite surprised hasn't been thought of before, considering the infection rate percentage in some hospital wards. Medicine is in desperate need of funding, I'm afraid. I find myself rather taken aback they haven't even left a donation as publicity stunt, at the least. It's certainly something Tony Stark should be doing, rather than enjoying the company of choice women._

Bemused, Tony read through Mischief's reply a couple of times - machines for medicine, eh? He'd always thought the universities had that under control and having never been conscious in a hospital himself, he couldn't speak of the conditions himself. It was definitely an idea, though, even if the comment was quite vague. Feeling the tendrils of inspiration, Tony clicked onto the profile of Mischief, hoping for a way to contact him further, unwilling to comment publicly. 

**MISCHIEF ( _Loki_ ) | ★★★★★**  
 _Here to help._  
USA, New York.

**RATING** : 10.3M | 567,893 posts |  
 **BADGES** : Top Contributor (2010), Two Star Member(2010), A Helping Hand (August, 2010), **SEE MORE FROM...** 2010, 2011, 2012.

**ABOUT** : _Just a guy from NYC with too much free time and a barely functional laptop. Feel free to PM me._

_Leave a comment...  
Private Message (PM)_

This guy, Loki, his profile said, definitely had a lot to say - if the site's ratings were anything to go by. Feeling hopeful, Tony attempted to type a message to him that both didn't sound creepy (how does internet etiquette even work, anyway?) and didn't give him away as who he was. Not that anyone would believe he was Tony Stark, but still. Being seen as someone who _thought_ they were Tony Stark would possibly be worse than being Tony Stark.

Though, being himself, Tony doubted there were many things more lonely.


End file.
